Melanie Palmer

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Jun 15, 2026, 5:17 PM

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Updated

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A group of Mount Vernon residents claims the school district has been campaigning illegally for Tuesday's budget re-vote. The group says they filed an emergency formal complaint with multiple agencies, including the New York State Education Department.

Voters rejected the district's first budget proposal last month, which called for a tax hike of nearly 2%.

The revised budget calls for an increase of 1.5%.

However, community advocates claim the district is illegally campaigning to influence Tuesday's re-vote.

"The lawsuit, known as Phillips v. Maurer - and that was in 1986 - which expressly states that a school district cannot use public funds in any way, shape, or form in order to coerce people to vote for something that they want," says Mount Vernon resident Shez Darden.

The complaint alleges that it's being done in several ways, including video messages on the district's official Facebook page. The complainants also raise concerns over other posts on the page.

The requests listed in the complaint include the removal of all campaign content from school district platforms before June 16. And that's not all.

"The request from myself and others is to either withhold this election, to actually stop it and not have it at all or nullify the vote," Darden tells News 12.

News 12 reached out to the district about this complaint and received a statement from the superintendent.

"The district is responsible for ensuring that students in the city of Mount Vernon receive the education, opportunities, and support necessary to succeed in life. As Superintendent, one of my responsibilities is to inform parents, students, taxpayers, and the broader community about the reasons a school tax increase is warranted, as well as the potential consequences if a proposed budget is not approved," said Dr. Demario Strickland, superintendent of the Mount Vernon City School District.

Polls open for the vote at 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

News 12 also reached out to the mayor's office, along with the New York State Education Department, and is waiting to hear back.